Smallville High
by haymadtay
Summary: Ever wonder what it would be like if your favorite CW shows were all set in the same modern day high school? Well I have good news for all you CW fans out there, I bring you what has to be the biggest crossover ever with characters from the vampire diaries, Reign, Star Crossed, Smallville, the Originals and the 100. My first fanfic, please leave comments:)
1. Chapter 1

Roman

I know the sound of machine hum like I know the sound of my own heartbeat. The familiar clickings and whirs of the equipment keeping Emory alive having long since become the soundtrack of my life. The heart monitor is beeping, the IV drip is flowing and the ventilator is wheezing, generously producing the rise and fall of Emory's chest.

On the outside she looks peaceful, a perfectly healthy seventeen year old girl. You'd never guess the horrific circumstances leading up to her hospitalization. The only remaining evidence being the jagged, pink scar running from her temple to jaw line.

If you've never seen someone you care about in a coma, take it from me it's hard. They're not dead so you can't mourn them. They're still part of this world, yet not part _of_ it. The staff tells me that Emory's subconscious is awake and that she's aware of the things going on around her. I desperately hope they're wrong. Being imprisoned in your own body sounds more like hell to me than something to hope for.

The dim lighting in the hospital turns everything into a strange shade of blue. Clarke says they do it on purpose, something about calming the patients. But it makes me feel depressed, like I'm stuck in one of those Edgar Allen Poe poems.

Emory loved poetry. She used to spend hours talking about the importance of immortalizing life. I would let her continue, giving no hint that I understood any of it. There was nothing quite as entertaining as watching Emory get riled up about the things she loved. Honestly she could have lectured me on mathematical complex analysis and I would have just sat there, taking it all in.

I remember one night, years ago when we hid ourselves away in Emory's old tree house pointing out constellations and holding each other close. She had recited an old John Keats poem, _Bright Star_. I can still remember with perfect clarity, how her words pierced the darkness around us and seemed to give meaning to my life. It was one of those moments that stretched on forever and somehow ended too quickly. If you asked me then, I could have sworn we were infinite.

A few weeks later, a jeep lost control on the street swerving onto the sidewalk where Emory happened to be running. Now she's here. The same place she has been for the past three years. What makes it worse is that it's all my fault.

I got involved with the wrong crowd at a young age and tried to get out. But there are some things you can't walk away from. I warned her not to intervene; I told her that it was dangerous. I should have known better than to believe she would listen.

Emory was one of those extraordinarily selfless people. Such a noble and rare quality, and no wonder it's rare because it's that selflessness that almost cost Emory her life.

There are witnesses I'm sure, but none with balls enough to come forward. It doesn't matter though like I said I already know what happened. All the pieces fell together after I received that horrifying late night phone call three years ago. I knew what she had done and I knew whose fault it was. Because let's be honest, we can't blame Emory for trying to fix my life. I know the blame for her current unresponsiveness lies solely at my feet.

I can't lose hope though. If I do, I'll lose track of who I am and everything I have left; the world will turn upside down and I won't have a place in it anymore.

With each night that passes, I visit her. Reading to her out of the journal I gave Emory for her fourteenth birthday. She used to take it everywhere, jotting down anything she liked. Song lyrics, memories, even quotes from her favorite people.

Every now and then I'll come across a page that includes me, like the moment I told her I loved her. I found the entire scene catalogued and outlined on page 73. I've probably read the whole thing front to back at least twelve doze times by now. But I keep reading, in hope that if she really is stuck in her body awake but paralyzed, hearing the words she once cherished so much might bring her some measure of comfort.

This time of night its quiet in the hospital, visiting hours ended several hours ago so no one disturbs me. The only reason I'm still here is because a girl I go to school with Clarke Griffin, lets me stay after hours on the condition that I don't go wandering around or steal any medications. Which isn't a problem I left any remnants of my old life behind me after Emory's accident. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't have gone to meet with those people in the first place and she wouldn't be in a coma right now. I can't dishonor her by continuing the life that destroyed hers.

The fingers of Emory's right hand are cold, laying clasped in the both of mine. I bow to place a kiss to her fingers. She wouldn't want me to spend the rest of my life waiting for her to wake up. Instead she'd tell me to get ready for school tomorrow.

If I'm being honest I'll admit that I don't want to spend the rest of my life here either. Most days it just feels like I'm waiting for a miracle that'll never come, holding on by a thread. But even if I'm away from this place it's not like I ever stop thinking about her. No matter what I do or how far I go, I always end up being pulled back to the hospital right back where I started.

My friends will be angry when they realize I have no intentions of going back to school. The whole thought of returning to Smallville high makes me sort of sick. Instead of showing up to my classes I'll most likely go to work then visit Emory again, like I've been doing all summer. It's more constructive than going to school anyway; at least I get paid for work. It's not like I need a degree for what I'm doing, a good mechanic doesn't have to show people where he went to school. Plus, I have bills to pay. Granted my parents would let me move back in with them if I asked but I don't want to. I've learned all I can from them. It's time for me to enter the real world. No, I don't think I will be going back to school this year.

I scowl into the darkness. If my mind's so made up, why am I so torn? I know it's because she would be disappointed. She would want me to finish school. Maybe if she could just grasp my hand, or give me a sign. If only I could hear her voice again...

"Come back to me, Em come back to me." As my words settle into the deafening silence I'm terrified that I have my answer.

Kenna

"This is impossible!" I flop into the sea of clothes on my bed, assaulted by the scent of my mother's favorite lemon fabric softener.

Davina's laughter comes bubbling through the laptop speakers on the bed next to me. "It can't be _that_ helpless Kenna," my friend says. "Your closet is twice the size of my bedroom."

I groan, but my protest is muffled by all the clothes. About an hour ago I realized that I hadn't picked out an outfit for the first day of school, so I had a panic attack and now it looks like my closet vomited all over my room.

I lift my head so I can see the laptop; thank God for Skype I don't know what I'd do without my friend's advice. "I was thinking maybe a jean skirt and a sleeveless white shirt.-"

"Isn't that against dress code?" Davina asks, picking at her nails, ever the rule follower.

I wave her off. "No one bothers with the dress code on the first day. They're too busy. The front office is like one of those lines of sugar ants after you squish one, they run all around like it's the end of the world."

"In their defense Kenna, if you're squishing them, it kind of _is_ the end of their world," she points out.

I shake my head "You're not listening that's not the point; no one is going to be dress coding on the first day. And _stop picking at your nails_ I thought we agreed you were going to break that habit."

Davina folds her hands in her lap, removing them from my line of sight. "You're right, sorry. Go on."

"As I was saying, I did some research and Cosmopolitan says I need to dress 'flirty' but not 'slutty.' What does that even mean?" I scrunch my eyebrows.

"What about that outfit your dad got you from France? That was cute." Davina advises.

I grimace. "My cousin borrowed it for a camping trip about a week ago and lost it."

She makes a face. "What kind of person goes fishing in a designer romper?"

"My seriously disturbed cousin," I let out a harsh laugh running my hands through my silky hair.

Davina leans forward from where she sits. "I see your dilemma, but there has to be _something_ in that closet of yours. Have you asked Octavia?"

"No." I admit. "I don't like getting her on Skype. I always get her brother and then it gets weird."

Davina laughs, "You're such a coward, Kenna. Hold on let me get her."

Davina disappears from my screen for a brief moment and I face my closet once more, perusing the racks for what feels like the hundredth time. Davina's right, it's pretty large, logically there has to be something in here that would work. "Maybe I should pick the shoes first. Build from the bottom up?" I wonder aloud.

"Ask Octavia," Davina's voice tells me returning to her screen.

"What do you think Octavia?" I ask.

"What do I think about what?" Octavia asks. "And why am I looking at one of Kenna's shirts?"

Turning back to the lap top I see that in my tirade, a shirt has landed on the webcam. I remove it, "Hi."

Octavia grins, "So I hear you're having outfit problems?"

I shake my head. "My dear, dear Octavia, this is more than a problem, it's not like I asked a fat person when the baby's due, or stepped on someone's shoe in the movie theater, I can't figure out what I'm wearing for the _first day of freshman year_. We have a crisis on our hands."

Kenna thinks she doesn't have anything 'flirty' in her closet." I can almost hear the quotations in Davina's voice

Octavia nods, "So what about-"

Davina cuts her off, "Her cousin lost her romper camping."

Octavia makes a face. "Really? Why would you-you know what no, I'm not even gonna go there."

Despite the dreariness of current events, I feel a faint smile creeping onto my face, no matter what mood I'm in, my friends always manage to make me smile.

"What about your overalls?" Octavia asks.

"And for a shirt?" I ask.

Octavia's face crumples like it always does when she's concentrating on something. "Hmm, wear that blue one with the flowers."

"No, I got it!" Davina snaps her fingers and points at me. "What about that maroon shirt we got from the Coldplay concert?"

"Excuse me," Octavia objects. "But I think it's _my_ turn to wear that shirt?" I ignore her.

"Yes!" I say clapping my hands "I even know where it is, it's hanging in the back of my closet next to that dress I wore at the Gilbert wedding. Now if I can just find my overalls…" I drop to all fours, scouring through the piles on the floor. "What are you guys going to wear?"

Octavia's voice comes from overhead. "My purple shirt, you know the lacey one and my combat boots of course."

"No surprises there," I say. She wore those combat boots with almost everything. _Where could those overalls have gone?_

I accidentally tug on the corner of my bedspread, thinking it's another shirt and the laptop comes crashing down on my head. _Ouch._

"Kenna? Are you ok?" Davina sounds worried while Octavia asks, "What was that?"

"Oh nothing, the lap top just attacked my face is all," I offer, rubbing my head.

The screen of my lap top looks a little wonky, the resolution having turned purple and green. But after giving it a good _thwack_ with the palm of my hand it goes back to normal. I can see Davina in her vintage themed bedroom and Octavia in army green one, walls so littered with pictures you could barely see the paint underneath them anymore.

I hear another, deeper voice coming from the background of Octavia's screen. "Octavia, do you have the laptop? I need it!"

Octavia rolls her eyes, "It's my turn! Can't you live without it for like three minutes?"

"He doesn't sound happy," I say.

Octavia throws me a look, "He's never happy when we're with dad. The computer's like his escape hatch or something, I don't even know what he does with it it's not like he actually does any homework."

The sound of a fist pounds on her door.

"Can't we share?" Octavia groans.

The door is thrown open and her older brother Bellamy comes bounding into view.

"You should have locked your door," Davina recommends.

"I did," Octavia argues. "But that only works if your brother doesn't know how to pick a lock."

"You know how to pick a lock?" Davina sounds impressed.

Bellamy bends down; Octavia's screen now dominated by both their faces. "I know how to do a lot of things."

Just then, Davina's older sister Clarke comes bursting into her room. Davina jumps and places a hand over her heart. It's moments like these when I wonder how Davina and Clarke are related at all. Clarke has blonde hair with scarred, sun-tanned skin from the sports medicine club. Then you have Davina, chocolate brown hair and so dainty you'd think her parents sent her to etiquette school.

"Clarke!" Davina says. "You scared me."

Clarke doesn't look amused although come to think of it, Davina's sister never does. "You need to go to bed, you have school tomorrow."

"So do you," Davina's cheeks turn a deeper shade of pink. She hates it when Clarke acts like her mother.

Bellamy's tone turns teasing from Octavia's screen. "Nice PJ's Clarke." Unlike Clarke and Davina, Octavia and Bellamy do look alike, both with tan skin and freckles, dark unruly hair sprouting from their heads. The only difference are their eyes. Bellamy has brown eyes while Octavia's are almost purple.

Clarke pulls her robe tighter around herself, realizing she has an audience. "Bellamy," she says acknowledging a fellow senior "Ready for school?"

"Oh you know me, I'm ready for anything."

Clarke rolls her eyes and stares pointedly at Davina. "Five minutes," Then disappears from view.

"Bye Clarke, nice talking to you," I mutter.

Bellamy laughs while Davina grumbles after her sister, "You have no idea."

Just then, Octavia's corner of the screen turns into a whirl of color and all we can hear is Bellamy's voice over Octavia's struggles. "You heard her O, it's time to go to bed."

"Bellamy!" Octavia shouts just as the screen freezes, giving us an up close look at Bellamy's lips before it goes blank.

"Octavia's got her hands full," I say.

Davina nods. "Umm hmm. I should probably go to bed though, before Clarke comes back-because you know, she will."

"Ok, night. I love you."

"Love you too. See you tomorrow," She smiles at me and it's only a moment before her side of the screen goes blank too.

I love my friends. We're more like sisters really; they're the only people on this Earth who truly accept me. But I hope this year things will be different. Unlike most girls my age, I know I'm beautiful. I like the way I look. And I like it when boys look at me. Some call it self-centeredness, I call it self-confidence. This year I want a boyfriend. It'll be a wonder if I get any sleep tonight, my heart is pounding I'm so nervous.

Clarke

My alarm goes off before the sun even rises, practically giving my vacation accustomed body heart attack. It physically hurts to get out of bed this morning.

Davina's already up. I can hear her banging around in the bathroom like she's hunting zombies. I remember when I used to care about looking my best for school, but that's the difference between seniors and freshman. For seniors like myself the novelty has sort of worn off. Pulling on a pair of comfortable jean shorts and my standard red sport medicine shirt I feel ready to face the day.

"Davina," I say letting my fist fall on the bathroom door. "PLEASE open the _DOOR!_ '"

"It's not my fault you didn't wake up earlier," She says.

Screw it. With a sudden burst of energy, I march straight back into to my room to locate the tools I need. In no time I'm storming back to the bathroom, dropping to my knees and setting on the lock. The sound alerts my sister who almost drops the straightener. "Seriously Clarke?"

The tumblers click under my hand and with a grunt I push open the bathroom door.

Davina leans towards the mirror over the sink, sucking her thumb with an accusatory glare. "Burn yourself?" I ask.

Her scowl doesn't lessen which looks strange in contrast to the innocent white dress she's wearing; perfectly setting off the fake tan she got with Kenna. She only got it so my mother and I couldn't yell at her about how tanning in the sun causes skin cancer.

I give her a slight smile and push past her to grab my toothbrush.

"Has anyone ever told you how completely unbalanced you are?" Asks Davina.

"Just you," I say squeezing my favorite Scoop flavored toothpaste onto my toothbrush.

Davina throws her hands into the air and walks away from the bathroom. The sound of my sister stomping around her room in annoyance brings me a strange sense of enjoyment.

Unlike my sister, I don't take forever to get ready. All I do is brush my teeth and run my fingers through my wavy blonde hair. And it's good it doesn't take me too long because after spending so much time picking the lock, all I can do is grab a granola bar before my phone vibrates with a text from Finn.

He's waiting for me in the driveway, his teal truck glinting in the sunlight. I used to tease him about his ancient vehicle but it's become quite the endearing thing, tied up in all things that are Finn, unique and carefree.

I hop in the passenger seat as he shoots me a smile. The same smile that got me through every shift interning at the hospital this summer.

"Morning," he sing songs.

"Morning," I chuckle.

"So, are we ready for another _great_ year at Smallville high?" he mocks.

I nod and Finn turns the radio up, drowning out the squeal of tires as we peel away from the curb.

Davina

I don't have a ride unlike Clarke, so I'm stuck riding the bus. Thank God for my iPod, which effectively silences the world around me. The ride seems to take forever but when the school finally looms into view, I almost wish it had taken longer. I've passed Smallville High on the way to the grocery store with my mom about a million times before but for some reason knowing I'm now a student here makes the scene all the more intimidating.

Most of the students that I can see through the gates are milling around the courtyard, huddled into groups chatting with their friends before the bell rings. There's a group of guys throwing a water bottle around, kicking it back and forth as if it were the most interesting thing in the world, meanwhile a few band students are laughing outside the library with their instruments and I can even hear the cheer squad marching around campus in their uniforms shouting at any student close enough to hear their stunning yet annoying school spirit.

I gulp. It's a lot to take in on the first day. I thank God that my friends and I agreed to meet before school starts, otherwise I'd be walking around awkwardly waiting for the bell to ring. I hold my head high when I get off the bus trying to look like I've done this a million times, determined not to play the part of a scared little freshman and head straight to the marble bench under a particularly large hickory tree near the bus area. This is our meeting spot and it looks like I'm the first one here. But I have an excellent view of the student parking lot from here so I can watch for them as they arrive.

It's not long before I see Bellamy's van, easily distinguishable by the ghetto paint job he and his friends completed with black and white spray paint. His van comes to a screeching halt after Octavia's brother manages to park, barley avoiding the three cars around it. I hadn't known vans could fishtail like that.

The star players of Smallville high's football team stumble through the doors. I think about Clarke, a veteran sports medicine student and how she's helped out with the football team since her freshman year. And thanks to her constant commentary I feel like I know these guys, like we've been friends all summer even though I've never really met them.

The last one to shakily make her way out of the van is Octavia. She looks bewildered for a few seconds, then spots me and waves, stumbling for a few steps before regaining her stride. Bellamy gives her a brief hug before she goes. You can say a lot of things about Bellamy, but whatever he is, he's a really good brother. Despite the elbow ribbing with Octavia over the computer, I know they have an excellent relationship. Being a big brother might be the one thing he excels at aside from football.

"Davina!" Octavia starts running towards me like the excited little freshman she is, _so much for blending in and looking dignified,_ I think.

I stand and wrap my arms around her when she gets to me. "You look awesome!" I say.

"I do? I'm really nervous. Bellamy's been telling me they shove people in trash cans for wearing the wrong shoes."

"He's just trying to freak you out." I grasp her shoulders and take a step back. "You look hot!"

Grinning she says, "So do you, I've always loved that dress."

I chose to wear a simple white dress today and jean jacket. Plain but elegant, a safe kind of sweet. "Well, thank you but white's not really hard to match."

She shoves my shoulder.

"Octavia, Davina!" We turn to see Kenna coming towards us in the pair of overalls she got from Charlotte Rousse. We tried to tell her she could get the same pair online for half the price but Kenna insisted the overalls at Charlotte Rousse were better. Her and her labels; it makes me laugh.

Kenna collides with us and we cling to her in order to stop from falling over. "I'm so excited to see you guys!" She says like we haven't seen each other in weeks even though we talked last night.

She pulls back and I can't help but compare her beaming face to the sunny day overhead, bright and fierce. "Are we ready?"

I turn to the face the campus before us. Five buildings and four stories of students trying to make their way in an unfair world, with my friends by my side suddenly it seems like an adventure. Without a word, we link arms and walk onto campus.

Anna

Everyone has a way of coping with things. Some people like to exercise, or listen to music, my ex-boyfriend Jeremy likes to draw. I read. Finding it easier to live in a world where plot lines are controlled and predictable.

I got so into reading these last few days I almost forgot today was the first day of school. I even had to check my phone to make sure it was August 24th. Summer was hell, I should be happy school is starting but it's only going to get worse from here.

It's my fault of course. Everyone told me not to go out with someone older than me. But Jeremy was nice. Besides, he used to stalk me at the library so I thought it was pretty much fate we be together. By the end of last summer I was a goner. I had fallen hard. And I thought he had too.

Until I saw him taking with his sister's friend, Bonnie. After her uncle died, Bonnie spent the night over at the Gilbert house to spend some time with Jeremy's sister, Elena. Bonnie was curled up on the couch sobbing her eyes out when Jeremy came into the room.

We were supposed to go out that night; he didn't know I was watching from the stairs. Jeremy helped Bonnie off the couch and held her close. He never kissed her, but I knew, by the way he was looking at her… it was how he looked at me, only more.

So I met him the next day and confronted him. He said it was ridiculous but I still broke up with him. One month later Jeremy and Bonnie started dating and I was invisible. Ridiculous huh?

Maybe breaking up with him wasn't smart, because now I'm in high school and have no friends. I hoped that high school was going to be worth something, even though all I feel is the ache of his loss and anxiety for another year. A whole year carrying the one secret no one can ever know…especially Jeremy.

A group of girls walk past me as I stand by the gates alone. One of the girls smile at me. I think having a friend in general would be nice. But I can't summon the courage it would take to talk to anyone; my shyness has become my prison. Who would want to talk to me anyways? I'm a small Asian girl with black nail polish, faded jeans and a chocker necklace. If Jeremy rejected me, why anyone else would want me?

Jeremy

Think of one of those febreeze commercials, where the people sit in the impossibly disgusting car and breathe deeply but don't smell a thing, that's Bellamy's car except, instead of febreeze, it stinks like corn chips and sweat. There are old gyms clothes, rancid banana peels and week old peanut butter sandwiches. I've been getting rides from Bellamy for two years now and I used to think that I'd get used to the smell. But if his sister Octavia, who is sits next to me, still looks green after living with him for her whole life I'd say that my chances of getting used to Bellamy's stinky van are pretty slim.

"Hey Octavia," I greet.

She nods but doesn't say anything. Which is good since she looks like she's trying not to throw up.

"Seriously?" Matt asks flinging his hand around as a gym sock goes flying. "I can't even buckle my seat without touching something gross."

"Stop whining," Bellamy says from up front.

Matt and I exchange a look and Tyler twists around from the passenger seat, sun glinting off his russet skin and cropped black hair. "Did you guys catch the baseball game last night?"

Matt nods. "Excellent pitching on Don's part."

Tyler opens his mouth but before he can go on about baseball Mat cuts him off. "You guys know we're going to be mentors this year? For the underclassmen on the field?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of nervous about it," I admit.

"Oh Jeremy's nervous…adorable," Tyler goads.

I tell him to shut up as Matt goes on, "We get a say in what happens on the team this year."

"Not as much as Bellamy," I say. We all lurch to the right and Matt grasps the handle on the ceiling as the van tips precariously around a turn.

Bellamy is starting quarterback this year. Lucky for us, he's also our friend so he's giving us all the spots we want. Although he says that he's going to put the team first, so if we mess up he'll have to call us out on it. I'm almost looking forward to seeing Bellamy rip into Tyler; he's the only one who can hold his own against him.

Tyler shakes his head, "I don't care so much about mentoring people, just those underclassmen girls. We're at the top of the food chain gentlemen." And by girls, we all know he means Liv. The girl Tyler's practically been stalking for two years. It's entertaining to see Tyler not get what he wants for a change. "What about you Jeremy?" Tyler asks.

"Me? No, I have Bonnie." I say.

Tyler frees his arm to slap my shoulder. "That's right I forgot about you and the cougar."

"She's only one year older than me, it's no big deal," I mumble. It was hard enough for me to convince Bonnie it was no big deal, I don't need this joker on my back too.

Bellamy pulls into the school parking lot, somehow managing not to hit Ms. Lane's car, although the cutting glare she gives us makes Matt shudder.

I laugh and Matt blinks hard as Bellamy goes soaring over a speed bump. "What?" Matt says defensively. "You don't mess with Ms. Lane she-"

He's cut off as our fearless leader turns so violently into a parking spot that I swear I see my life flash before my eyes, "Hells bells," I gasp.

It takes a moment to pull myself together, but not Matt. Before the vans even at a standstill he's got the door open and one foot on the ground. "Hey Matt, I uh think you left your stomach on the seat," I say because the guy looks greener than Octavia. This isn't hard because Matt's as pale as I am, practically albino.

Bellamy's sister follows me out of the van and after taking a few shaky steps she's off to somewhere presumably safer than Bellamy's van.

Matt braces his hands on his knees. "How in the hell did you pass your driver's test?" he says to Bellamy as Bellamy closes the driver side door, making his way around the front of the car.

"What can I say?" Bellamy says. "It was my irresistible charm."

Leith, another friend of ours calls from about two cars down leaning on his muscle car. He pushes off the hood and walks over to us. "Still trying to sell that story about the DMV woman are you?" He asks Bellamy.

I shake Leith's hand and clap him on the back. Over the summer it seems I've grown another few inches and am almost as tall as he is. As it is, the top of my head barley reaches his blonde hairline. "How's it going man?"

Leith shrugs. "Alright, although I still don't believe you Bellamy, because that driver instructor didn't fall for my flirting so you gotta know there's no way she feel for his."

"Leith," Bellamy says. "It's like I told you, she asked for my number and I said I would only give it to her if she passed me."

I shake my head. "What would an older woman want with you?"

"Everything she can't have with you Jeremy," Bellamy dead pans.

"Hey!" We look around only to see Ms. Lane marching toward us in all her English teacher glory: high heels, pant suit, and don't forget that trademark cut-you-to-the-quick gleam in her eyes. Matt's face pales. "Hey, Blake!" She says referring to Bellamy's last name.

"I think she's talking to you," Says Leith.

"Yeah no shit Leith," Mutters Bellamy.

Tyler lifts his hand and waves to someone off in the distance, "Hey Liv, I'll be there in a second!" Forget the fact that after he says this, Liv turns away in horror, almost running to get as far away from Tyler as possible. Tyler starts after her, the man might be a pain in the ass but at least he's persistent. Doesn't change the fact that I'm still waiting for the day she pepper sprays him. Matt bets Tyler will win her over before then but I'm pretty sure I saw on Facebook that Liv took a self-defense class this summer. With any luck, I'll be ten dollars richer by the end of the day.

With Tyler jogging away and Matt still looking a little woozy from the drive I decide it would be best if I bailed. "See you on the practice field Bellamy."

Matt follows me as I walk away. "I have Ms. Lane next hour," he says.

"Great, you can tell her how you got that back eye."

He scowls. He actually got it because he got in a fight with Damon Salvatore. He never told me why he did it but I don't blame him Damon's a dick. The things my sister Elena has told me about him…the kind of things he does for Kai's gang…

It's a wonder my sister's boyfriend hasn't killed his brother yet.

Caroline

I love the first day of school. There's something comforting about getting back into a routine. The only thing I _don't_ like are the front office people. Because they're running over each other's toes and yelling at everyone in sight. Ten minutes ago, I heard Rebekah Michelson apologize to Mr. Kane after _he_ ran into _her_ asking if she's always this clumsy or if today was just a special occasion. It wasn't even her fault.

And you'd have thought I asked Mrs. Guerrera to hang herself when I asked her to help me with the copy machine. She grumbled the whole time, practically dragging her knuckles on the ground. "Why they even let students like you use the copy machine I'll never know…"

It's not my fault the thing's a dinosaur. It breaks down every time we use it, even if we don't touch it it starts beeping…Like we breathed on it wrong or something…student council calls it Jaws, but we can only call it that when the office ladies aren't listening or they're liable to become even more homicidal than they usually are.

And then there are the teachers who blow through the office like tornadoes because they're running just as late as the students. Mr. Saltzman already had to scrub Ms. Sommers' coffee off his shirt after accidentally clothes lining her by the cross walk. He probably has second degree burns. You can hear Ms. Sommers' repeated apologies from the nurse's room a few yards away.

It'd be entertaining if I wasn't so busy. It's only the first day but I'm already behind. A student council's vice president's work is never done. Next Friday there's a pep rally that hasn't been planned, Student Council hasn't had our annual back to school meeting yet, which was supposed to happen last week but Francis was out of town. And don't even get me started on the carpool arrangements for the lake-trip on Labor Day…

"So there," Mrs. Guerrera slams the lid of the copier. I don't say that slamming the lid probably won't win her any points with Jaws. "Please be careful, this is the district's property and a pain to replace." She scowls walking away before I can even thank her.

Overhead the bell rings. I hadn't realized it was so late. But one peek at my phone confirms that it is in fact, 7:25. I'm an office aide this hour so it's no big deal but seeing how crazy things are, I think it's best if I stayed out of the lime light and continued to make copies of flyers. This is fine by me, since I have a lot to plan and apparently no one else on student council cares if we have a pep rally next Friday or not.

The volume outside rises to a dull roar as the students make their way to their classes. I gather the pages I've copied, stacking them into neat piles. A pair of arms wraps around me and after a brief moment of tension I relax into their familiar embrace.

"You're late," I accuse and twist around to see Francis looking down at me with his beautiful baby blue eyes and resist the urge to lean into him. _Stay focused Caroline you're mad at him,_ I think. It's ridiculous really, the flood of happiness that comes from seeing him.

He cinches his eyebrows guiltily. "I know, I forgot to set my alarm and I'm sure according to your to-do list, we're already behind." I smile. "So I'm more than willing to dig in and get my hands dirty but," Francis pauses. "I need to go see Hayley first, really quick. I just wanted you to know that I hadn't forgotten you first."

I sigh, "Fine, I guess if you have to," His face splits into the biggest grin I've seen in a week. "But," I touch my finger to his chin and his face rearranges itself into mock seriousness. "You sir, have to be back here and ready to work in like fifteen minutes because we have 100 of these pep rally posters to put up and we still need to go over what we're actually doing for the pep rally."

He grasps my arms. "Thank you thank you thank you, I'll be right back." He leans in for a fast kiss but it ends up lasting longer because I've really missed him.

He breaks away almost regrettably, "Yeah, definitely coming right back."

I laugh as he hastens to the door, pivoting on his heel to push it open with his back, throwing me one last guilty smile before disappearing into the crowd of students.

I give myself to the count of ten to appreciate the day. Busy or not, my life is pretty great. It's my senior year, I'm dating the president of student council a.k.a the man of my dreams, and we're going to Kansas University next year along with Bonnie and Elena and Stephen and the whole group and everything will be perfect. All that's standing between us and our shinning future is what's bound to be the best and most profound year of high school. It's like my version of a fairytale coming true.

Greer

Embarrassingly enough, I've already had to ask for directions twice, I've never been to a school this size before. Its five buildings and four stories of the world's largest human sized hamster maze. A far cry from the private school I attended in California with only 500 students.

I make sure to check my schedule before walking into my first class; triple checking the numbers on the door just to be extra positive I'm finally in the right place.

Inside, there are four kitchenettes complete with refrigerators, ovens and tables. It seems the students have already split themselves into groups within each kitchenette. The closest kitchenette to me is filled with giggling girls, the next one sits completely still except for their thumbs, texting rapid fire. And it seems the last kitchenette has found their way into their fridge. It's this group on which my attention lingers.

One boy sits on the counter while two dare devils stand at his attention, both with a blob of whipped cream in their right hands. On the count of three the dare devils smack their right forearms with their left hands, causing the creamy blobs to soar high into the air… the guy on the right manages to catch his in his mouth, while the guy on the left misses, frosting the left side of his face with fluff.

It's at this moment that our teacher chooses to walk in, a black man in his late twenties who drapes his leather jacket over the chair behind his desk before making his way to the biggest kitchenette in the front of the room. He looks more like a biker than a teacher. "Alright, I'd ask who's ready to start cooking, but clearly I can see that you boys are." He says glancing over to the kitchenette in the back to whip cream boys.

I let out a laugh, I can't help it. And one of the boys looks over at me, the one who caught the whipped cream. Slowly, he licks his lips devouring any remaining traces of the sweet blob, his eyes never leaving mine. I look down.

"Please refrain from using any and all food items unless instructed. Now if you boys would be so kind as to clean up your kitchen we can get started, and Ms…?"

I look up, in horror, to see the teacher is talking to me. "Greer," I say.

He nods. "Greer. My name's Mr. Gerard. Do you need help finding your seat?"

I realize I've been standing at the door for the last five minutes, hesitating. A few people laugh, my heart beat quickens as I walk into the room, trying to find a seat but it seems as if they're all taken…

"You can sit here," Says the guy who licked his lips, making a show of getting up and holding his chair out for me. Since I have no other choice I sit down as he pushes me in.

He sits on the counter now that I'm in his chair and I feel guilty because I cost him his seat.

Mr. Gerard claps, "Who says chivalry isn't dead?" The class laughs. "Now just a little about myself, I grew up in the Bayou, and went to culinary school in New Orleans; Louisiana bred all the way. I moved to Kansas for reasons of which I will not be telling you. The rules in my class are simple: do what I say when I say it. There's a lot of hazardous equipment in here and with everyone cooking at the same time things will get a little chaotic. If you respect me, I'll respect you and we'll get along just fine. Tomorrow, we're going to do a little cooking activity but for today I don't have anything planned. And I know you're probably tired of the whole icebreaker routine-"

Just then the door opens and in walks a young blonde, hair tied up in an elegant knot with paint brushes. She's about Mr. Gerard's age and has paint stains on her jeans. A smile blooms across his face as he gestures to her, "But guess what? It's the first day of school and life suck's all around so we're going to get to know one another. I want you to divide into pairs and ask each other three questions." He holds up three fingers. "Three questions that will help you figure out exactly who this person is. Then we'll take turns standing up and telling the class about the person you're paired with. Camille, would you care to join us?"

The blonde blinks. "It's _Ms. O'Connell_ , and I just stopped by-"

Mr. Gerard waves his hand. "It won't take long. Come on, you can do me."

The guys around me start to chuckle and Ms. O'Connell's lips thin to a fine line, "Fine then, _I'll do you_ , Mr. Gerard," she says clearly unhappy about his choice of phrasing.

"It's _Marcel_ Ms. O'Connell; remember?" He says as she makes her way to the front of the room. "Alright guys get to it, you have fifteen minutes."

My new friend who gave me his seat jumps off the counter and takes a knee so we're both at eye level. He's quite tall. "I'm Leith" He says.

He's polite compared to everyone else. So far this morning, all I've gotten are a few, _'Oh I'm sorry'_ s _, was that your foot?'_ And one, ' _Um, you're in front of my locker.'_

"I'm-"

"Greer, yeah I heard." He says, his long blonde eyelashes brush together; they're so long I wonder how they don't tangle. The color matches his fair hair. He shifts a little closer and I notice he's not only tall, but muscular too. His voice is husky. "You have your three questions?"

I raise my eyebrows, "Do you?" He nods. I'm impressed. "How did you think of them so quickly?"

He rolls his eyes. "The coaches in the weight room do the same thing every year."

"Oh," I nod. "That makes sense, what team are you on?"

"Football."

I nod.

"You're one question down, now it's my turn-"

"Wait! That's not fair, that wasn't my question I didn't know we started!"

"Coach says those who are the least prepared will always be the ones to lose the game, not my fault you weren't paying attention," Leith tilts his head as if to say, _se la vie._

"Fine then, what's your question?" I ask.

"Would you rather watch Star Wars or Star Trek?"

I make a face, "Star Wars."

Leith reaches across me to open the fridge.

"I don't think we're allowed-" I say.

Leith grabs a water bottle and shuts the door. "Good, I can't stand Star Treck people." He says "Your turn."

"What if I had said Star Trek?" I look over at Mr. Gerard who seems to be too busy with Ms. O'Connell to notice Leith's indiscretion. Our teacher is leaning on the counter towards her, too close to be appropriate in a classroom full of children.

I look back at Leith twisting the top off his water bottle and try to think of a good question. But suddenly I can't think of anything so I say the first thing that comes to mind. "Cats or dogs?"

"Ugh, so generic," he scolds. "Dogs. My turn. University or life experience?"

"Oh that's a good one," I say, thinking. My cousin decided to spend a year back packing in Europe before she went to college and she says it's the best thing she's ever done. Then again I'm not that brave and in reality there's no way my father would let me go so I'll probably end up going to a University.

Leith starts tapping his foot.

I scowl. "Stop with your tapping you can't expect me to think with all that racket."

" _All that racket_?" he asks incredulously. "If you take this long to answer this one you'll never be able to answer my next question."

"What's your next one?" I ask apprehensively.

He laughs, "Answer the second question and you'll find out."

I grimace, he laughs again and I feel my phone vibrate. In the interest of not being rude I look down to see who it is but don't read the text. _Elijah._ "Um," I say, thoughts temporarily scattered. Now I really can't think so I pick the course my life will most likely take. "University."

"Fine," he says. "Next question?"

 _Oh, it's my turn again_. For the sake of redeeming my earlier question I dig into the furthest reaches of my brain for the most creative question possible. After a while Leith starts tapping his leg again. I put my hand on his knee, he smiles.

"How," I ask. "Would your friends describe you?"

"They would say I'm calm under pressure, a good running back" Leith answers so fast I'm almost upset I really thought I would slow him down with this one. "What?" he says. "They tell me all the time."

"Ok, your turn. Let's hear this epic final question." I mock.

"What… is your favorite snack?"

"What?"

"What is your favorite snack?"

"I heard you, how is my favorite snack going to help you figure out who I am?"

"You'd be surprised," He says seriously. "You can lump people into stupid categories of course, but none are as revealing or argument inducing as snack foods. Think about it, what if your mom told you and your sister to go to the store to get one bag of chips and you had to agree on what you got?"

I nod my head. "Valid point, Doritos."

He holds up his hand for a high five, I smack it. "Okay," He says. "We're officially friends. What kind flavor? Please don't say salsa, I abhor it."

"You're out of questions but because I'm nice, I'll answer. I like all flavors." I laugh, "How did you know I had a sister?"

"Lucky guess. You're new here aren't you? I haven't seen you before, and I've seen everyone."

"Just moved from Star City."

He whistles. "California. How do you like Kansas?"

"It's alright, Kansas has its perks." I say elusively, I don't want to get into the reasons why my father moved, but I don't want to lie to Leith either.

If he thought my tone was abnormal, he doesn't say anything. "Wait till you see the lake, it's not much but on Labor Day we all go up there, and it's like nothing you've ever seen before."

"You make it sound magical," I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"That's because it is," He says. "But you'd have to see it to understand what I'm saying."

"So, do you always use words like abhor? Or were you just trying to impress me?" I ask.

"Definitely trying to impress you. Did it work?"

I make a fanning motion with my hand, "I'm already swooning," it's easy to talk to Leith, maybe it's because I've been so nervous about this day. But I think it might just be Leith. He has a relaxing presence about him. And I feel confident that I have him all figured out by the time Mr. Gerard calls the class to order, thirty minutes after his initially imposed fifteen minute rule. I suppose Ms. O'Connell is to blame.

We go around and tell the class all about our partners and when it's my turn, I say. "I met Mr. Leith Bayard, who is on the football team, running back. He likes dogs more than cats," Now that I say it out loud I realize what a stupid question it was to ask. "His friends say he's calm under pressure although I'm sure they'd also say he's a tad mischievous too," The boys at our table laugh and I take it as a true consensus.

He smiles at me, almost wistfully like we've known each other for a long time. And I guess in a way, it feels like we have.

Leith gets up off the ground and begins, "So Ms. Greer Norwood has just moved here from Star city with her family which does I'm guessing, include multiple sisters due to her protective demeanor. At first, she seemed shy but proved to be quite the intellectual once she started talking," I raise my eyebrows. "She likes Star Wars more than Star Trek," People laugh and I shift uncomfortably. "Greer also told me that she would choose a university over life experience but after getting to know her, I think she unintentionally lied. I'd wager she prefers life experience but lacks the courage to pursue it. She likes to laugh, hates to cook, and has never joined a sports team, to her regret I'm sure. And" Leith adds almost as an after-thought, "She loves Doritos."

Leith sits and I know I'm staring at him with my mouth open.

Mr. Gerard looks a little bemused and maybe a little, appreciative as he moves onto the next pair. "Thank you Leith, that was very insightful. Next?"

"What was that?" I whisper.

Leith slowly moves his gaze from Mr. Gerard back to me, speaking from the corner of his mouth, "That, was what I learned about you."


	2. Chapter 2-Long Live The Queen

Chapter two

Long Live the Queen

Hayley

Another day, another dollar. That's what Bash would say, trying to make the day seem more worth-while. Only school isn't a job so I'm not getting paid. Also I'm bored and Bash isn't here.

At least Mr. Saltzman is usually pretty cool. I mean he wants you to do your homework but as long as he knows you're somewhat paying attention, he isn't half bad. The morning announcements begin so he turns the T.V on and the class volume settles to a dull roar. It's only by sheer chance that my eyes are wandering randomly around the room when I see Francis through the slotted window on the door.

I look over to Mr. Saltzman who's sitting behind by his desk. He's typing something on his computer, not paying attention by any means. But we're juniors so he expects us to act like adults.

While I give him points for optimism; in general I've learned that 16 year olds are about as emotionally mature as five year olds; the only difference is we have licenses and they get more parental supervision. It's only a matter of time before someone tries to cut the end of someone else's nose off with a pair of scissors. Lucky for me I'm in the safe zone because I sit right next to the teacher's desk.

"Mr. Saltzman?" I whisper.

His fingers freeze on the key board as his eyes flicker up to mine. Obviously he'd rather be doing whatever it is he's working on.

"May I use the restroom?"

Mr. Saltzman quirks an eyebrow. "The bell just rang; you had five minutes to use the bathroom."

"It's just," I make a face. "I need-"

"Yeah okay you're fine, whatever. Just be back here in ten minutes, we're going over the syllabus."

I stand and can't help but smile. There are times when it's really convenient to be a woman.

I have to beeline between the desks and dodge the many backpacks littering the floor before I can reach the door. It's a good thing I'm not clumsy. Another girl in my class, Liv, has got her feet kicked up on the desk, sitting smack dab between her brother Luke and our mutual friend Tyler. She and Tyler are playing paper football using her crossed boots and Tyler's gym bag as opposing goal posts. By the looks of it, Tyler is winning, which is making Liv mad while Luke looks bored, staring blankly at the T.V with eyes glazed over.

Maybe old habits _do_ die hard, but I can't help but geode Tyler as I walk by. "Taking Junior history again, Tyler?"

"Screw you Hayley," He chides but playfully. People probably think our relationship is weird but since our breakup in the eighth grade, our short lived romantic relationship has taken a turn for the friendly. He's like a brother to me now and I honestly don't know what I ever saw in him, I imagine I was just excited to be dating someone a year older than me. I kick his chair as I pass making him miss his next goal, he scowls. I smirk.

Outside in the hallway Francis is leaning against the wall. He pushes off it and shoves his hands into his pockets when he sees me.

"What are you doing here?" I ask even though I know the answer. "Don't you have like, a million student council things to do?"

He nods, "That's what Caroline tells me. But I haven't seen you since I got back from my trip-"

"And you're checking up on me as a favor to Bash," I assume. My older brother makes a habit of checking up on me when he's busy with Klaus.

"Yeah," He admits. "He wanted to make sure you're alright."

 _If you only knew the half of it_ , I think shaking my head. Francis would be furious if he knew where Bash really was, what Klaus was making him do.

Francis frowns. "What?"

"Nothing, I just miss him I guess."

"Hayley," he says with caution, like he's worried about me. "We've practically grown up together. If there's anything that you need or anything that _he_ needs-"

"Hey," I say stepping forward to grasp his shoulders, offering a small smile. "You're like family to me Francis, and I appreciate you checking up on me. You know I don't have too many people in my life who care enough to do that."

He smiles and then it fades. "Do you know when Bash'll be back?"

"Nope, he just said he'll be-"

" _Back as soon as possible,_ yeah. That's what he always says isn't it? I wonder if…?" Francis has never approved of Bash's work for Klaus; even though he knows why Bash had to do it _._ My brother and I had grown up with fewer resources than in a worse part of town, when Klaus came along he offered my brother protection, and a steady pay check. Usually, Francis veers away from discussing any and all things Klaus related in order to avoid getting into arguments with my brother, so when he lets his sentence fall off I'm relieved. Don't get me wrong I'd love to defend my brother but I really don't feel like going head to head with Smallville's golden boy today.

He blinks. "I'll let you get back to class then. Try and have a good year ok? Stay out of trouble."

I pivot on my heel but pause in the doorway, half in half out, to call to Francis who's already walking down the hallway. "Hey Francis?" He turns to face me. "Thanks."

Francis waves like it's no big deal even though we know it is and continues on his way. He really is a great guy; sometimes it makes me sick, thinking of what we're doing to him. I'm a year younger than Francis but it's like he said, we've grown up together. There's not a story in Bash's life worth telling that doesn't involve Francis. They're more like brothers than friends.

But since the night of Emory's accident, the same night Mary Mikaelson mysteriously disappeared, I haven't been able to look at Francis without feeling guilty. I really, _really_ hate lying to him…especially about Mary. Francis still doesn't know what happened to her. He doesn't know what Bash and I do, and thanks to Klaus we're not allowed to tell him.

Klaus was afraid that if his arch enemy Kai was bold enough to attack Emory there was nothing stopping him from going after his twin sister, Mary. So he sent Mary away for her safety to Star City, California. And Klaus wouldn't let anyone tell Francis what happened because he didn't trust Francis to keep his mouth shut. The last thing Klaus needed was his rival gang leader Kai or the police snooping around in his business.

Bee-lining through the classroom again, I see that Liv has removed her feet from the desk and is now yelling at Tyler, who has apparently won the game.

"Luke, you saw it! You know it was out of bounds!" She protests.

Her brother Luke only rolls his eyes.

My return seems to have alerted Mr. Saltzman who takes his place at the head of the classroom. "Good morning everyone," he says. "Welcome to third year history. That being said let's all give a round of applause to Mr. Tyler Lockwood; our very own in class senior!" A general laugh rumbles over the class. Tyler grinds his teeth.

"I'm Mr. Saltzman, if you didn't already know. Saltzman is of German origins; my family immigrated here in 1755 to Texas. I however, was born in Boston. Alaric comes from a dead great great grandfather who I cannot thank enough; you'll probably want to pronounce it A-laric. But you can call me Rick. Ms. Gilbert, Ms. Bennet can we put the phones away? Thank you."

It's pretty easy to drown out the rest of the morning from here.

Kenna

The morning started out great. Striding onto campus arm in arm with my friends…I had this one, shining moment …and then it was over. The first person I saw inside the gates was a Goth chick who looked like she wanted to cry, after that I tripped and fell in the hallway after trying to avoid an open locker, from there things only got worse.

My first hour was a riot; I walked into Mr. Shumway's _senior_ bio class because _how was I supposed to know it was a senior clas_ s? I was only following my _freaking schedule_.

The teacher (an Asian who looks like he's constipated from eating too much rice) told us to go to the back of the room. And as my luck would have it, I ended up working with two stoners. One, a girl who's name was Vickie and this other kid who looked like Judd Nelson's evil twin, the kind of guy who looks like he burned down buildings for kicks. After unearthing the dead cat from a box, Judd Nelson's evil twin proceeded to poke at its eye with a pair of tweezers which he took from Vickie's bag without her knowing. When she found out she yelled at him, and he took one more vicious stab at the eye which squirted all over the table. It was then that I threw up.

Judd Nelson's evil twin backed away so fast that I had to grab the table for balance to keep from falling over. It wasn't long before Mr. Shumway realized I was a freshman and after going over my schedule he placed a call to the front office to complain. Thank goodness Vickie took pity on me. The brave senior escorted me to the nurse's office although I'm pretty sure she did it just because she wanted to get out of class.

So now I'm sitting in the nurse's office, not-so-patiently waiting for someone to fix my royally screwed up schedule.

They moved me into one of the backrooms where people go while waiting for their parents to take them home but there's no way I'm going home, not on the first day. Vicki walks in the room. "They said you can come out into the lobby now, as long as you promise not to throw up on the carpet."

"I promise," I say relieved. Vicki seems to understand my need to get out of here. I tried to protest when Ms. Griffin made me lie down. It's embarrassing enough without being babied. I stand straight up, so fast it almost makes me woozy but I won't give them the satisfaction of seeing me faint. I force my mind into the present and focus on Vicki. She's tall and pretty with caramel hair and perfect white teeth. I thank her for helping me and she shrugs.

"You're welcome, I know what it's like to be in the center of attention in a not-so-good way, Kenna is it? You have nothing to worry about. They'll forget it."

"Really?" I ask one hundred percent positive she's only saying this for my benefit.

She nods. "Totally, it'll blow over by tomorrow."

I still think she's saying this to calm me down but it's working so I let her. "So you're a senior?"

"Yup which begs the question, how _did_ they mess up your schedule so badly?"

"Tell me about it. As if the first day of school isn't hard enough."

"Freshman?" She takes a seat across from the front desk and I do the same in the chair next to her's.

"Is it that obvious?" I ask.

"You were in Mr. Shumway's class and I don't remember seeing your name on the list of people who tested into it; there's no way you were in that class by choice, only seniors who want college credit dare to sign up. People hate him."

I laugh but she looks serious. "So what's your advice?" I ask.

She raises her eyebrow. "Advice?"

"You know the whole _senior tells the freshman how to survive_ moment like in the movies?"

Vicki laughs. "It doesn't really work like that but sure, I'll give you advice. It's better than going back to class. Um, never say you're thirsty it doesn't mean what you think."

"I know that."

"Good then, you're ahead of the game. Stay away from the curb; trust me you don't want to go there." I give her a look but she ignores my curiosity, plunging ahead. "Also if you're ever in Ms. Sullivan's class sit in the back, she won't see you texting. And what else? Oh," She says pointing at a tall, dark haired guy who just walked into the office. "Stay away from that guy."

"Who's he?" I wonder, thinking he looked strikingly attractive.

"Damon, Damon Salvatore." She says.

At the sound of his name, Damon turns from the attendance window, see's us then turns back to the attendance clerk to say, "Just a minute Ms. Fleming, I'll be right back." The coyness of his voice surprises me, almost a seductive purr.

Damon comes towards us and tilts his head suggestively. "Oh my gosh, look what the cat dragged in…Vicki the hickie."

"Seriously?" Vicki frowns.

He holds up his hands. "Just commemorating old memories."

Vickie rolls her eyes, "How was your summer?"

"That's for me to know and you to _dot, dot, dot_ ," He makes stabbing notions in the air with his hand as if to make dots.

"You're such an ass," she says and I raise my eyebrows. I didn't think his comment was ass worthy.

Damon looks pointedly at me and my stomach twists. "You better watch your language," He drops his voice to a whisper. "There are little ears in the room."

Vicki shakes her head at me but I answer anyway. "I'm Kenna, Kenna Drakovitch. And I'm fourteen, not five so you can say whatever you want around me." I don't want him to think I'm a prude.

A sly smile tips his lips and he opens his mouth to say something but just then a girl walks into the office, and Damon sucks in his breath. She is skinny with long brown hair and dark eyes.

She walks past the secretary only to disappear behind the front desk with a pretty black girl in tow. Vickie smirks, "Still barking up that tree?"

"That's what we like to call…" His eyes drift around like he's searching for the rest of his sentence on the wall. "Oh yeah! My business."

Vickie stands up, and I copy her. She puts a hand in his shoulder, he scowls at it. "When you're into your brother's girlfriend, it's everybody's business. If you wanted your little secret to remain quiet you shouldn't have made it so obvious."

"Says the jealous ex-lover," he annunciates, picking her hand up of his shoulder with two fingers and letting it drop.

"Whatever," Vickie says. "Come on Kenna, it's probably time for second period and I need a smoke before I have to see Ms. Lane again." We start walking to the door but she turns around. "Silly me, almost forgot to ask about you and Ms. Lane…is it true what they say about you two?"

It's clear Vickie thinks she's got him stumped, you can practically see the self-proclaimed victory dancing in her eyes. But Damon just puts a finger to his lips and winks, "I've been sworn to secrecy."

Vickie rolls her eyes again and I follow her but not without one last glance back at Damon.

Bonnie

Walking past Damon with Elena is an interesting affair. He watches Elena while Elena pretends not to notice, chanting something that suspiciously sounds like Stephen's name under her breath.

But there are more important things to worry about than unrequited love. Mary is back.

There are two names you don't mention on this campus and the other one is Mary. She was vice president during her freshman year, a place that now belongs to Caroline. Second to none Mary was the most popular girl in school. She bridged the gap between nerds, rich kids and jocks. Mary made everyone feel like family. One of those people who motivated you without ever making you feel inferior.

So why is the name tabooed? Three years ago, she disappeared and no one knows why. Some say her twin brother Klaus killed her. A few people swear they've seen her ghost in the hallways, the shadow of a legend long since passed.

That is, until someone saw her this morning. That someone being Elena who looked like she _had_ seen a ghost when she saw Mary walking arm in arm with Bash in the courtyard.

After a few _are you seeing this too_ , glances between her and I, we high tailed it to the front office to tell Caroline. Because Mary wasn't just the vice president, she was Francis' ex-girlfriend.

People say it was Mary who really convinced the students to vote for Francis when he ran for president, because Francis and Mary were a package deal, high school sweethearts, love at first sight.

But it wasn't the cosmic love between her and Francis that made Mary really stand out from the crowd, it was her twin. Because it's not every day you get the sister of an alleged bad boy running for student council and dating the nicest guy on campus. She had one of those smiles that seemed to open up the world and everyone in it. She made you want to believe in impossible things.

So with her being back, I have no doubt that things are about to change. That, and Caroline might spontaneously combust. As long as I've known her, all Caroline has wanted is for things to be perfect, for everyone to be together. And if Mary being back doesn't throw a wrench in her ultimate plan for world peace, I don't know what will. Plus, in Mary's place Caroline, Elena and I have sort of stepped up to be the "it" girls on campus. Not to sound conceited but it's a spot I'd rather not lose, it's nice to know that everyone knows your name and will buy the same pair of sunglass just because you tried them on.

Elena and I hustle down the bowling alley. This is what we students call the long row of cubicles behind the front desk occupied by counselors, assistants and secretaries for the school. They glare at us as we pass, wondering at the nerve we have intruding upon their inner sanctum.

We find Caroline in the copier room organizing a couple of flyers. One of them is an invitation to the soccer scrimmage this Saturday, the other is choir try outs and the third is a pep rally poster bolstering school spirit for whatever awesomeness student council has planned for us next Friday.

"Didn't Alaric say something about having flyers put up for the history club?" Elena asks.

Caroline jerks her face in our direction and stutters, "What? He didn't…anyone ever let me-"

"Kidding Care," Elena says. "You looked like you needed a little lightening up."

Caroline lets out a short laugh. "Lightening up? Lightening up! Like that's even an option right now, Rose and Roman were supposed to be here this morning to help me before school started-"

"I'm sure Roman had other things on his mind," I say.

Elena nods, "Yea isn't the first day of school hard on him? I know it is for me."

I stiffen at Elena's words. We all know she lost her parents a few years back, I'm sure the first day of school is hard on her even if she and Jeremy do have an amazing guardian like her aunt, Jenna. Still losing her parents changed her and not for the better. At first she wouldn't leave the safety of her house for anything. That is until Stephen Salvatore took an interest in her. The guy has more patience than anyone I've ever met.

Caroline sniffs, "I understand that but he should have told me he wasn't going to be here."

"Did he even tell you that he was going to come in today?" I ask.

"No," Caroline's shoulders slump. "You're right Bonnie, I'm being ridiculous I just, I have a lot of stuff to get done. I'm sorry if I offended you Elena."

"It's ok Caroline," Elena steps forward and gives Caroline a shove. "I'm used to it."

"So…" I say. Elena and I debated on drawing straws before we came in to see who had to tell Caroline. Now I wish we had instead of just winging it.

Caroline notices the tension between Elena and I. "Guys?" She asks us.

Elena's voice drops an octave. "We saw Mary this morning, with Bash."

Caroline looks confused so I continue, "I think she's, back."

Caroline's expression suddenly freezes into place, Elena and I look at each other.

She holds up one hand and uses the other to clean out her ear. "Um I don't think I understand…Mary? As in…?"

Elena nods and I'm glad she says it because I can't. "Francis' Mary."

"Mary left," Caroline says, "Her psychotic brother killed her-"

"Caroline," I cut her off. "She's back."

Her face turns red as it crumples and she rubs her forehead, "Ohmygosh, you've got to be kidding me!"

Elena and I rush forward but Caroline holds her hands up. "You know what, I can't deal with this right now, we have to, we have to get our shit together and post flyers or it will never get done and coach Sommers will kill me if the soccer scrimmage isn't up. So Elena," Caroline grabs the soccer papers and hands them to Elena. "You start on the East side. Bonnie," She gives the pep rally ones to me. "You take the cafeteria, library and computer lab. I'll take these and I'll meet Elena in the middle. It'll-"

"Care, are you ok?" I cut her off again. Because she's doing her usual Caroline thing when things go wrong and she starts trying to organize things. Once when she slept over at my house freaking out about Matt, a guy she had a major crush on she rearranged all the silverware in our drawers. Grams thought it was an outrage.

"I'm fine!" She says. "I just need to get this done and then I'll talk to Francis, she left him he wouldn't take her back would he?"

"No," Elena says. "He couldn't do that, he cares about you."

Caroline nods. "Well then, let's get going and then we'll welcome Mary back to Smallville."

She stalks past us and Elena and I give each other worried looks before following Caroline out, leaving plenty of angry glares from the bowling alley in our wake.

Mary

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Bash asks.

"No," I say, but give him a smile anyway. "But I have to."

Bash and I stand in front of what used to be my high school. It's been so long, I've missed it. So many fond memories…

"You don't have to go through with it," he says.

"This is the first time I've been allowed to come back, I'm not giving this up." I say mostly to myself, to help steel the nerves. "Besides, you can hardly expect me to miss my senior year can you?"

Smallville High is exactly as I remember it. The tornado reinforced windows just as thick, the marque still stands reading, _Smallville High School Go Crows_. Even the cracks in the sidewalk are the same.

The same five buildings stand at attention, ready to instruct and to mold. Despite its name, Smallville hasn't been small in a long time. Not since Lex Luther bought most of the land and turned it into suburbs. I've seen pictures in Francis' house, of what Smallville used to look like, with nothing but farm land for miles. But it's a thriving community now, with summer pools and a Starbucks around every corner.

I'm nervous about coming back here. I don't know what everyone will think of my return and to be honest I don't care what _everyone_ thinks, just a few people, just the friends I left behind. Thanks to Bash I know about the rumors surrounding my disappearance. That I'd run away, or that my brother killed me. Both plausible cases in my situation if you didn't know Klaus the way I do, he might be a monster but I don't think he has it within him to kill a member of his own family, he's far too possessive of us for that.

Bash seems to have read my mind. "Don't be nervous, they'll be happy to see you. Just remember not to give any details when they ask questions."

"I know, it's not the questions that are making me nervous, it's just _one_ student in particular…" I don't need to finish my sentence; we both know who I'm referring to.

"Francis isn't one to hold a grudge." He says.

"I hope you're right." I take a deep breath. "Ready?"

He offers his arm like he did on the board walk weeks ago. I laugh, clinging onto him tightly as he escorts me to the office.

I feel as if time is turning back, to an era filled with laughter and friends, to the years I was free to be as young and reckless as I wanted, to the time I feel in love…

Greer

When the bell rings I pack up my pencil and binder and head for my next class. But I don't get far before he's coming after me, "Greer!"

I look back to see Leith shoving through the line of students issuing from the door. I pause, allowing him to catch up.

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted a tour of the school," he's out of breath by the time he reaches me. "I figured this school's pretty big, probably not as big as Star City of course but still confusing, if you don't know where you're going."

"Sure," I say. "You can show me to my next class." I don't bother telling him my last school was about half the size of this one since it was only for the financially privileged.

Leith stares at me, amused. "It's going to take longer than five minutes to show you everything."

"What are you suggesting?" I wonder, a curious feeling beginning to unfold in the pit of my stomach.

He chuckles. "I'm _suggesting_ that I give you a tour, of the entire school."

"I don't know how it works here but where I come from we get in trouble for ditching."

"They make an exception for new kids, besides if anyone gives you any trouble just tell them you were with me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, that's the power of living in the same place your whole life, if you get in trouble and someone mentions your name everyone knows who did it and where to find you. So I'll take the fall."

"But I don't want you to get in trouble," I tell him.

"It's not on my to do list either, but some things are just meant to be. Like being _chivalrous_ for the new girl," I laugh as he repeats Mr. Gerard's words. "So let's just hope the teachers are too distracted with all the mayhem to notice."

I hesitate, and take a step towards him. Leith gestures down the hallway and says, "Away we go!"

There's something about him that makes me want to step outside the lines. Do something rebellious. Forget all my responsibilities. Even if it's just for a little while…my father did move here so my sisters and I could have a normal life. What could be more normal than breaking a few rules?

Octavia

Its official, this place is bomb. Granted I've only been to one class so far but if the rest of my day follows the same track, high school is going to be a breeze. Thanks to my brother and all of his football parties, I already know a lot of people, and those I don't know nod to me anyways because I'm Bellamy Blake's sister. My first hour class was great, my teacher Ms. Sullivan is a complete genius on the computers and while I'm an idiot with 21st technology, she made me believe I could actually get a passable grade, that and she said she doesn't assign homework. It was awesome.

Also I'm the only one of my friends who can say they haven't gotten lost yet. Probably because Bellamy outlined my schedule on a map with a bunch of arrows from class to class last night when I asked him to but still, not getting lost on the first day is a huge accomplishment.

Second period is next so I make my way to the first floor of building three to room 1311. Strung over the door is a colorful banner that reads: ¡Bienvenidos! I don't know what that means but I hear music inside so I enter with high spirits.

This classroom is decked from floor to ceiling with bright colors, like a box of Crayola markers threw up on the walls. I love it. There are maps of what I'm guessing are Spanish countries and one Interview with a Vampire poster next to the T.V. The next two things I notice are the most important: First, Devina and Kenna are sitting at a table for five with a seat saved for me. And second, there's food in the corner.

A lot of food. Arranged on a table beneath the window. Bowls of rice and heaps of goopy goodness I probably won't be able to pronounce, I do however recognize the chips and salsa.

With great effort, I tear my eyes away from the bountiful feast and turn to sit with my friends. "Hey guys!" I say.

Kenna barley smiles before it wavers and she gives up, letting the corners of her mouth fall while Davina simply shrugs.

"Ok, either someone shoved you guys in a trashcan or I'm missing something." I say. "By the way I actually saw that happen this morning, just outside the English building. It was pretty raunch."

"No, it's been an ok day I guess," Davina sets her teeth on edge and then speaks so fast I can barely hear her. "Geology sounds ok but Ms. Forbes _did_ say she gives a lot of homework and if we can't keep up there's no way to pass her class so I made this planner thing-"

"Davina!" I stop her. "Slow down, I'm sure you'll be fine. There's no reason to freak out. Bellamy had that class and he never did his homework." I scoff.

"And you're sure he's never been held back?" Davina asks.

I grit my teeth, "Yes, Davina I'm sure, how many more times are you going to ask?"

Davina sighs, "Anyway my morning was alright, better than Kenna's."

Kenna counts off the morning events on her fingers. "Let's see…I got put in an honor's Biology class with a bunch of seniors and almost puked on one of them, was befriended by a girl with the most unfortunate nickname and met Smallville's residential bad boy Damon Salvatore, oh and did you hear the rumor about him and Ms. Lane? The English teacher I think. Then-"

"Wait up, timeout; you almost threw up on a senior? Who?" I wonder pulling up a roster of every senior I know in my head.

"I don't know I'll have to point him out sometime he looked like he wanted to rip me to pieces."

I look at my friends, so down on their first day of high school. "Guys, it's only second period things can turn around, I know they will. High school should be fun remember? Now what's up with all this food? Can we eat it?"

"No we're just supposed to stare at it," Kenna squints.

I punch her arm and she laughs.

"Oh my gosh," says Davina pronouncing each and every word.

"What?" I ask.

"Is that…I think that's our teacher," Devina says pointing at the door.

In walks a man, probably in his mid-twenties, giving a whole new meaning to tall dark and handsome. He's got a summer tan, and wears a macramé necklace and a bomber jacket. He's got this edgy look to him, like he's done everything, even a few things he wouldn't admit to. He looks at Davina and smiles. She blushes dropping her gaze.

Just as the bell rings, two guys come to a screeching halt in the doorway, out of breath with red faces.

"Gentleman," Our teacher says with a thick Spanish accent. "Thank you for joining us would you mind taking a seat?"

They nod and look around, but the only seats available are at our table, Kenna and Davina figure this out as well and moan next to me. I scowl at them, there's no need to be mean.

I recognize one of the guys, the Asian kid who is gangly and short at the same time if that's even possible, it's the same kid I saw shoved in the trash can earlier. When he sits down the air wafts over us and I try my best not to gag. Whatever the hell was in that trash must have been illegal…there's no other way to describe that smell. Like dead cats and fast food playrooms.

The other one is tall with pale skin and black unruly hair. He smiles as they sit and shoots his friend a _stop being so miserable look_. I decide to like them.

"Hey," I say.

"Hey," The tall one says. "I'm Jasper." He pushes a pair of science goggles up higher on his forehead, his already unruly hair now even more bed-headish.

"I'm Octavia, Jasper can I ask why you have goggles on your head?"

He pulls them off so fast they get caught on his nose it smacks him in the eye. I laugh. His friend looks at the whiteboard unsurprised. Kenna moans again.

I kick Kenna under the table and ask Jasper, "Who's your friend?"

"This is Monty." Jasper says looking pointedly at his Asian friend. "Say hi Monty."

Monty doesn't even look away from the white board. "Hi Monty."

Jasper only has time to mutter something about being "real mature" before the teacher starts talking.

"Well then let's get to it, shall we? I know you're all dying to try this food but first let me tell you a little about myself. My name is Enzo short for Lorenzo please don't call me anything different as I won't answer to it."

He goes on to say he was born in Eastern Europe and moved to the U.S after his father died. He discovered his passion for teaching language and travel while studying at Whitmore University in Mystic Falls; wherever that is, and went on to travel the world for some years before settling down.

Kenna whispers in my ear, "Must be nice, having the freedom to travel where you'd like whenever you want. His father must have left him a lot of money."

Davina nods in agreement.

"I believe the best way to understand a culture is live it, breathe it all in and immerse yourself in the ways of the people, so today that's what we're going to do. Before you lies a table of food from my favorite Hispanic countries. But I need your attention for twenty more minutes while we go over the syllabus."

The class groans.

Hayley

"I don't know why Jaha insists on babysitting us. I haven't had to use an agenda since I was ten." I say to Lola, as we walk to third period. I have English with Mr. Kane and Lola has soccer. The team hasn't officially been assembled yet due try outs on Wednesday, they're giving the girls time on the field so the coaches can see whose worth having. Lola's a guarantee though, she was on the team last year and she's one of the best.

Despite her calm exterior, she proves herself a capable opponent on the soccer field. She and her friend Liv are crazy on the field, and they're only sophomores.

"He wants his students to keep up on his assignments," Lola says annoyingly realistic.

"Don't defend him." I snap

Lola tries not to smile, "you just don't like him because he's giving us homework."

"Yeah like I don't have enough to do already," I say distractedly. Because I think I see a dark haired someone across the courtyard. If only all these people would get out of my way; I… _Bash_. I see him and I'm running. He grins and only has time to take a couple steps before I'm already crashing into him. He catches me up in his arms and spins me around like he used to when we were kids.

"Hayley," He chuckles. "How I've missed you."

He puts me down but I don't let go. I feel safe here with him. I hate it when he leaves, I can't sleep soundly until he's back. I know he has work to do and he's doing it to protect me and our mom. He would do anything to keep us safe, even joining Klaus Mikaelson's gang, even standing up against our father…

My wrist seems to itch and I clench my fist against Bash's shoulder. He notices, removing my hand to stroke the inside of my wrist, caressing the cigarette mark, courtesy of the man we once called father before Bash ran him out of the house.

"Finally," I say. "You were gone long enough. How is she?" My voice drops to a whisper. It's been my brother's job to protect Mary ever since Klaus sent her away to Star City three years ago. Bash checks up on her from time to time, spending a week out by the beach in California enjoying the boardwalk with my best friend. It's so unfair.

"Why don't you ask her for yourself?" He glances pointedly behind me.

I turn to where he's looking, coming face to face with one of my oldest and best friends. Pale face, full lips and long raven hair.

"Mary!" I exclaim.

She opens her arms and I fall into them. "Hayley!" She squeals in my ear. "How I've missed you!" Her Scottish accent is thick as ever. She wasn't born in Scotland. Actually she was born somewhere in Europe even though her parents don't know exactly where. The Mikaelson family is widely traveled thanks to their father's dealing with car thieves and arms dealers. Their parents dragged them from country to country until Mary was fourteen and finally convinced them to let her and her five siblings to move to Smallville, where their aunt, uncle and cousin live, so they had a chance at living normal lives.

Her parents agreed under the condition that even though the Mikaelson siblings live alone in their own house they allow their aunt and uncle to check in on them occasionally and for Klaus to help run a portion of the family business. So Klaus being the ruthless individual that he is, now runs one of the two gangs on campus. That's how I met Mary and her cousin Lola, the same girl I now realize I had left standing alone across the courtyard. Oh well.

Bash, my brother is Klaus' right hand man. There's no one else he would trust with Mary's safety. As far as I know, she's still supposed to be hiding out in Star City since she pissed some powerful people off so many years ago.

I pull back, "Don't get me wrong I'm happy you're here but what are you doing here?"

Mary purses her lips, "Bash helped convince Klaus that it was safe enough for me to come back. Kai probably doesn't suspect anything," She looks at my brother and Bash offers a small smile. "Besides it's been so many years, if Kai wanted to find me that bad he would have done so already. And it's not as if we're not taking precautions, I know what I'm doing."

"What precautions?"

"Just, precautions." She evades. I glare at her and she sighs. "Look let's not worry about the details," Mary grasps my arms. "This is a happy day."

"Who else knows you're back?" I ask.

"Anyone here in the courtyard I suppose," she looks around. "I haven't made it to any classes yet but it won't be long before everyone knows. If they even remember me." She grins shyly at the ground.

"You're kidding right? Remember when that kid Collin clogged the toilet with that gym sock in the girl's bathroom? And it made the plumbing explode in the locker rooms?"

"Only because you and Lola dared him," She points out.

"That was purely Lola." I shake my head.

Mary gives me a knowing look. "I still believe you were the instigator."

" _Anyway_ , my point is, you were all anyone could talk about sophomore year, way more than the exploding plumbing. Until Klaus beat someone up in the cafeteria for accusing him of murdering you."

She grimaced. "I heard about that one, Bash told me the poor kid had to go to the hospital."

I shrug. "No permanent scarring."

She gives that small frown she does when anyone starts talking about Klaus. I know it's complicated, she loves him but it's hard when you think of all the shit he does. If it's hard for me having a brother in a gang I can't imagine how hard it is for Mary to have a brother in charge of one.

"Hey," I give her arm a pat. "I'm sorry."

She clears her face of all pain. "Don't worry about it alright? We'll talk about it later. What class are you going to?"

I make a face, "English."

Mary laughs "You always did live for the weekends; it's a comfort to see that some things never change."

"Yeah, I'm glad you still have your accent, instead of sounding like one of those dumb beach bunnies from Star City."

"Oh no," She cringes. "If there ever comes a time I no longer sound like Scott you should just shoot me."

I roll my eyes, "So dramatic." When Mary was 6 her family stayed in Scotland for four years, the longest they ever stayed in one place and she fell in love with it. Once she successfully adapted herself to the accent she's been painfully determined throughout the years to keep it, intending to return to Scotland one day, it's the only place that ever felt like home to her.

"I hate to interrupt," says Bash. "But the bell just rang and we're the only ones standing here and I don't feel like going to detention today." He checks a paper he's holding before handing Mary her schedule. "Plus, Mary has Geology and Ms. Forbes hates it when people are late."

"Are you going with her?" I ask and I notice Mary's eyes on my brother shortly before flickering away.

Bash gulps. "No, I have my own classes unfortunately. Mary do you need help finding the science classes?"

"No, it's alright. I remember." Mary smiles, gives me another quick hug and turns to walk away. "I'll see you at lunch."

"I can walk with you to your class," I offer.

"It's ok," she says. "Catch up with your brother." And somehow I know she wants to be alone.

When she's out of ear shot I round up on Bash. "You didn't."

"What?" He asks.

"Please tell me you didn't put the moves on Mary. I saw the way she was looking at you don't try to deny it!"

He grimaces, "You're overreacting."

"Am I? Then tell me nothing happened and I might believe you."

He shakes his head.

I can't believe this. "How could you do that? To her? To _Francis_?"

"We stopped before anything happened," he finally gives in.

" _Who_ stopped it?" I ask. He tries to ignore me, heading off to one of his classes, but I grab is arm and use all my strength to swing him around. "Please Bash…who stopped it?"

Davina

Ok so maybe this place isn't as bad as I'd originally thought. And maybe I had a panic attack this morning. But school is actually turning out to be alright. I'm happy Octavia is enjoying herself and of course Kenna is already affiliating with seniors and I'm sitting in class trying to write down all the different homework assignments in my planner.

People around me are silent at the moment for once. All day everyone has been talking and I've been agonizing over what to say. It's not that I don't want to fit in; I just can't seem to figure it out. To everyone else I'm the responsible student they go to when they didn't do their homework. So what if I'm a perfectionist? I still want to have friends, I can be cool.

Of course there's Octavia and Kenna, but I can't find anyone to talk to in any of my classes besides Spanish because Spanish is the only class I have with them.

I'm in a senior majority class right now because I wanted to get it over with while most people procrastinate until the last year, plus it didn't require any pre-requisites. And if I take this now, I can be in college classes by the end of next year. So I can be in high school and get someone of my college credits taken care of at the same time. At least Clarke's not in here, it would be embarrassing to take the same class as your sister. I don't want to be seen as that much of a nerd. That and she would be embarrassed.

It's all dark in here. Ms. Forbes turned off the lights so we can see the slide show for her introduction to Geology power-point. Five minutes into the presentation, someone walks in. A girl with long black hair. She's the kind of gorgeous I wish I was. Someone sitting next to me stands up. I can't pinpoint why but it's clear from the way he looks at her and the way she looks at him…they know each other.

"Mary," He says.

"Francis," She tries to smile although it looks more like she's trying not to cry.

Greer

Seeing the school with Leith is by far the funnest thing I've done since I've moved to Smallville. He turns everything into a joke and I even open up to him about my family a little, telling him that it's hard at home. I don't elaborate but he seems to sense I can't talk about it so he says nothing simply taking what I give.

He gives me a tour of all the buildings, but we go a lot of back ways so we don't get caught, taking a lot of staircases I'm sure we would get in trouble for using because they're probably for staff but I don't care. Life suddenly seems ok, like it's possible to handle if I take it day by day.

He shows me the football field and the racket ball courts; he shows me the photography room and a few teachers' lounges. The teachers just nod at him. When I ask him about it he says he just knows how to be friends with people. The teachers we see were pleased to meet me when Leith introduced me. I know it must not be like this for all of the students though, Leith's just figured out a way to cheat the system and have a good time.

We go to the cafeteria to get ice cream from the lunch lady who turns out to be his aunt. He knows everyone I swear.

Narcisse, the security guard almost had us cornered at one point but Leith dragged me with him as he sprinted down another back stair case, leading us out into the library where he shoved us behind a suit of armor.

"What's happening-" He puts a finger to my lips as our breaths slow to the same even rhythm.

I start to feel guilty. I wonder what Elijah will think of this. But there's nothing wrong with having both a friend and a boyfriend is there? No. So why do am I starting to feel like a horrible person? It's not like Leith likes me like that anyway. When he takes his hand away and pulls me from the suit of armor I have this gut feeling that I'm blushing.

I was contemplating all this as we walked, thinking about how I should tell Leith he needs to take me to class, but what would I tell the teacher? _I was ditching so that's why I'm late?_

Suddenly, we run into Elijah in the courtyard. I figured he would be in one of his classes, but seems to know the school as well as Leith which gives both of them the ability to ditch without being caught.

"Elijah," I say and throw my arms around him because I truly am excited to see him. He moved mountains to convince my father to move out here so we could be together. Elijah told my father it was wise to keep a closer eye on his business in Kansas and once this idea took root, my father had us packed and moved halfway across the country.

"Greer," he says embracing me in turn. "I kept waiting for you to text me; I was beginning to think that you decided to stay home."

"No, Leith was just giving me a tour." Is it stupid I feel the need to explain myself? We weren't doing anything...

I untangle myself from Elijah and back away to introduce him to Leith. "Elijah this is Leith, Leith this-"

"Elijah, yeah," says Leith holding out his hand for Elijah to take. "Everyone knows Elijah Mikaelson." He says his name like there's something wrong with it. It makes me stiffen. You can't judge someone by the actions of his family, I would know.

Elijah grasps his hand. "I don't think we've officially met, you're the starting running back this year?"

"How did you-" Leith muses aloud.

"I know the list isn't out yet but I've made acquaintances with someone who prints the roster. I'm a big fan of the team."

Leith clenches his jaw, "I've heard yeah. You should join then."

"If only." He smiles sadly. "Unfortunately, I have prior engagements."

"Pity," Leith's eyes become slits as he studies Elijah.

I don't like this. I tell myself there's no reason to worry but I'm starting to panic, what will Elijah think of me spending half the day alone with a man I barely know? "Thank you Leith, for showing me around it was a lot of fun." I say.

"Fun?" he says almost chewing over the word then sighs. "If that's what you want to call it."

Elijah slides his arm around my waist. "It was a pleasure to meet you Leith, see you around?"

"See you," he agrees and walks away without looking back.

Francis

If I could burn a hole in the back of her head with the intensity of my stare, I would have. After putting me through _hell_ for years, after disappearing without a word…I would never have done that to her.

The day after Mary disappeared, I went to Hayley's house because if anyone knew what actually happened it would have been Mary's best friend. At first Hayley refused to talk to me, saying she didn't know anything. I however, had stayed an entire day on her porch until she finally came outside to tell me that, yes she did know where Mary went, but no she wasn't going to tell me where and yes Mary was safe. She also told me she didn't know when Mary was coming back, if she was coming back at all. So I did the only thing I could: I dropped it. And it killed me.

I couldn't stop wondering, as hard as I tried not to, why she had gone? Did I scare her away because I told her I loved her? Was I moving too fast? Or maybe it had nothing to do with me, could it be more family drama?

I would have died for her, or at least runaway with her if need be. I would have done anything, given her anything. If she only asked. Apparently, I wasn't good enough.

I wonder if her number is still the same. If it is, then she's just been ignoring me. If not then she has an excuse for not answering the thousands of text messages I sent after she left our sophomore year. I pull out my phone from under the desk careful to shield its glow because the lights are still off due to Mrs. Forbes' power point. A hard knot forms in my throat as I type one word.

 _Mary_. I hit send.

Mary shifts. I know her body language as well as my own; she places most of her weight on her left hip shielding her phone from view. I imagine the way her brows would cinch together as she read. Back in the day when she received a text message from me, the smallest of smiles would curve her lips. I can't see her face now, although I would gladly pay the money to do so.

It takes an eternity for the bell to ring. And then I'm out of my seat. The only one faster than me is Mary, seemingly eager to escape but I grab her in the hallway, pulling her into a janitor closet and shutting the door forcefully behind us.

Mary lets out a gasp. There's no room for escape in a janitor closet, she'll have to talk to me.

" _Mary…_ " I can barely say her name.

"Stop," She says and the word stabs at my heart.

She looks afraid. I would never hurt her, I don't have it in me…not because of the way I was raised, it's just who I am. My family wasn't around long enough to actually raise me. My parents were the 'let's leave him our credit card and he'll fend for himself' types.

That's one of the things that first drew me towards Mary. Both of us stuck in complicated situations with our families that no one else understood…But seeing her now, in front of me after all this time brings on a flood of emotion I had been suppressing for years.

" _Why_. Why did you leave?" Out of all the questions I have, this is the one that refuses to die in my throat.

"Francis you don't understand I didn't have a choice." Her scent, closed up in this small space is intoxicating. I step in closer, Mary's breath catches.

"What do you mean you didn't have a choice, we all have choices; Mary you _left_ me!" My voice begins to rise and I know I'm scaring her. I don't mean to yell but I can't help it. I thought I was going to be with her forever. I thought she loved me, she never said it but I was so sure…

Water gathers in her eyes. "Please Francis; don't make this harder than it has to be. I'm sorry if my coming here causes you more pain but I promise to stay out of your way, you can ignore me and everything will alright. It will be as if I never came back"

I shake my head, mostly because it's an impossible statement.

She's not making sense. Mary wiggles from my grasp and opens the door. The light of the hallway reveals tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry," she repeats before disappearing into the crowd.

The door closes and I let it. Letting out a yell I punch the wall.


End file.
